Ukrainian teacher guilty of anti-Semitic slurs

April 24, 2008 9:00am

Jewish leaders in Ukraine welcomed a court decision finding a teacher guilty of making anti-Semitic statements.

Nikolay Yakimchuk, a public school teacher of Ukrainian language and literature in the city of Kirovograd, was charged with ethnic incitement after several students testified that he allegedly said during class that “Jews are bad and impudent people,” that Jewish students are only “taking space in our school,” and there should be “no place for them among people.”

In 2006 the Court of Ukraine’s Kirovograd region acquitted Yakimchuk of hate crimes charges. After an appeal from the Jewish community, however, the local court on Tuesday brought down a guilty verdict.

Lyudmila Borisenko, the leader of the Kirovograd Jewish community, told JTA that the local Jewish community appreciates the verdict, but that Jews are afraid Yakimchuk will be granted amnesty.